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TARGET TRAP. No. 374,043. Patented Nov. 29,1887.

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PATENT Orrrcn,

FREDRICK C. DAMM, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CLEVELAND TARGET COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

TA'RG E T-T RA P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,043, dated November 29, 1887.

Application filed April 28, 1887. Serial No. 236,507. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it 'known that I, FREDRIOK C. DAMM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, have invented'certain new and useful Improvements in Target 'lraps; and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear, full, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

' tend to exert a crushing force upon the targets to such an extent as to often fracture the targets in the act of throwing the same, the grip of said jaws being necessarily very great because of the insecure position in which the target is held between the two diverging jaws of the carrier, one jaw of which, although bifurcated, simply serving to prevent a vertical displacement of the target, and in nowise tending to reduce the power of the necessary grip of the opposing jaws upon the target.

Another objection to carriers as heretofore constructed is that the bifurcated jaw for reception of the target has had its arms substantially rigid with relation toeach other, so that targets having rims of varying heights could not be secured in position bythese arms ex-' cept by their lateral gripping force alone, and targets having rims of wide1y-differing heights cannot be placed in position at all.

The prime object of this invention is to so construct the carrier that while one of the jaws exerts a yielding pressure or gripping force upon the target the grip is directed in such manner that it has no tendency whatever to fracture the target.

thereof away'from the target; to provide a stationary or revolving pin corrugated on its periphery so as to engage a corresponding corrugation in the periphery of a target-rim, whereby an axial rotation is imparted to' the target in its flight, and toprovide certain details of construction in carrying out my invention, all as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a plan view of a carrier embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof, showing the target in dotted lines; and Fig. 3, a sectional View on line X X of Fig. 1, looking in the direct-ion indicated by the arrows.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A indicates the outer end of the throwing-arm of a target-trap, which may be actuated in any common and well-known manner usual in this class of devices, to the end of which arm is pivotally secured the target-carrier, consisting of a base-plate or targetsupport, B, the free end of which is bifurcated so as to form two arms, C D, extending outwardly for the main portion, and divergingsufficiently to form a rest for the target, the spread of the arms, however, being preferably sut'ficient to accommodate targets of the largest size. To the outer end of the arm 0 is secured an upright pin or stud, E, corru gated on its periphery and forming one bearing point for the target when in position on the" carrier, against which presses the periphery of the rim of the target, also corrugated, as shown, a second bearing-point for which is formed by another projection of stud F at the point of conjunction between the arms 0 and D, the projection in the construction shown being simply an upturned lip from the base B, which is composed in this case of sheet metal. This feature, however, is unimportant, and may vary according to the desire of the manufacturer. The studs E and F are so placed with relation to each other that a target of the smallest diameter cannot be passed between them, thus formingtwobearing-points upon the rim of the target, against which the target is pressed by the yielding jaw, now to be described, lying above the arm D of the base-plate. This yieldingjaw G, as shown, extends approximately parallel with the arm D, but lies at an oblique angle thereto, as will more clearly be seen by reference to Fig. 3, in which the said jaw is shown as pivoted at its rear end to an angular projection, H, bent up from or otherwise rigidly attached to the baseplate of the carrier. The free end of this jaw, extending forward of the pivot, is unsecured and totally disconnected from the base-plate, and being composed of spring metal, by reason of its nature constitutes ayieldingjaw or gripper; but in order to enlarge the capacity of the carrier, so as to operate in connection with targets of extreme dimensions, I prefer to render said jaw still more yielding by subjecting the same to an independent springtension, which is accomplished by giving said jaw an extension, I, at substantially right angles to the gripping end thereof, the outer end of which extension is engaged by a swivel-bolt, J, working freely through an upright stud or post, K, secured to the baseplate. Upon this bolt is sleeved a coil'spring,

' M, confined between thestud K and an adjustable nut, L, working upon the outer end of the bolt J, the tension of which spring actuates the bolt,aud' consequently the angular end I of the jaw, in such mauneras to'cause I thefree end of-saidjaw,by reason of its inas to :hold it iuclose contact with thebase 5 :1 prevent a lateral displacement of the'target" clincd position, to approach the target-support. Thus it will'be seen that a target placed upon the base-plate between the studs E and Fwill begripped bythe spring-jaw G upon the rim thereof with a downward pressure, so

until released by the throw of the carrier, the studs E and Fscrving merely as auxiliaries to and to permit a lessening of the gripping force I of the said spri-ng-jaw. The gripping force of the spring-jaw, it willbe observed, is exerted entirely upon the-thick rim of the target and 1 not upon the'thinnererown or center thereof,

7 so that the liability of fracturing the target is auxiliary in releasing the target, it requiring only the slightest movement of the jaw to entirely release the target in such manner as to clear it. It is also apparent that the corrugations in the periphery of the targets, acting in conjunction with the corrugated pin or stud on the base-plate, produce an axial rotation of said target in its flight, the target by the centrifugal force employed in its discharge belng forced against and rolling upon or around the said pin or stud while its opposite side 1s released by the spring-jaw.

In conclusion, I may add that while 1t 15 preferable to have the gripper-j aw G composed of spring metal, so as to be elastic or yielding independent of the spring-cushion M and the accompanying devices, it would be no departure from the spirit of my invention to have this jaw composed of inflexible material, because the said spring and adjustable devices would render said jaw sufficiently yielding to make the same operative.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, lS-+- 1. In a target-trap, the throwing-arm and the target-support or base-plate thereof, 1n combination with a spring-actuated gripperjaw, the line of strain of which is at an oblique angle to the plane of the target-support, substantially as described.

2. In a targettrap, the throwingarm and the target support thereof, in combination with a spring-actuated grippcrjaw pivoted to said support, the line of strain of which is at an oblique angle to the plane of the targetsupport, substantially as described. I

combination with a spring-actuated gripper- I I jaw, pivotedto said support, the, axis of said pivot being oblique to the plane of thetargetsupport, whereby said jaw moves toward and away from'said support in an oblique line, substantially as described. y

- 4. In a target-trap, the throwing-arm, a base'plate pivoted thereto, and'stops or studs projecting from said base-plate, in combina tion with a gripper-jaw pivoted to said base- ,IIO

platein aniinclincd position,and an adjustable I I spring-actuated bolt working loosely through a projection on the, base-plate and engaging saidgripper, substautially'as described.

374,043 I r s base-plate pivoted thereto, and one or more plate in an inclined or oblique position, sub- J stops or studs projecting from said base-plate, stantially as and for the purpose set forth.

the outer end one of which is corrugated on its periphery, in combination with a flying FBEDRIGK DAMM' 5 target having a rim corrugated on its periph- Witnesses:

ery for engaging said corrugated stud, and an J. M. TAYLOR,

adjustable springjaw pivoted to said base- PAUL NORTH. 

